Island Park is known for its stunning views, vacation spots and its biannual Island Park Festival.
The festival returns Friday and has more than 200 vendors from eight different states selling their eclectic items. The festival will have a mechanical bull, face painting and more than a dozen food trucks with breakfast and dinner options.
“We're not your typical farmers market that people are just showing up and throwing it out. These guys are serious in what they're doing,” said Jean Phillips the festival’s director. “They have beautiful backdrops, they take their work very, very serious and it's unique stuff that you've never seen before.”
The free Festival is Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It is located next to Sawtelle Mountain Resort on Quakie Lane. Workers will direct parking and a free shuttle service to and from the parking lot will be provided.
The vendors will have items such as leathers, quilts, huckleberry jam and Idaho souvenirs. The festival provides an opportunity for many local artists to show and sell their work.
“It's just different personalities coming together and people that have worked really hard on their items to be there,” Phillips said. “It's rewarding for them too because you know a lot of the arts are lost arts, even from sewing to, you know, quilting and different things. It's sad, but it's rewarding when you see that people are still doing it.”
The event is sponsored by Sawtelle Mountain Resort and Connie’s Restaurant and thousands of guests are expected to attend.
For more information about the festival, visit islandparkfestival.com.